Multi-billion dollar power complex steps closer to becoming reality

The US’ ExxonMobil Corporation is eager to exploit Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) gas field stretching across the central provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai to serve the power and petrochemical industries.

At the recent meeting with Paul Greenwood, vice president for Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific Business Development at ExxonMobil Gas & amp, who is visiting Vietnam to study the feasibility of the Blue Whale gas field project, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung highlighted the importance of the project for meeting increasing gas demands in Vietnam. Dung also urged ExxonMobil to work with Vietnamese state-run oil and gas group PetroVietnam and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to finalise the project.

Greenwood said that ExxonMobil is accelerating negotiations with Vietnamese partners to reach a final agreement. At present, ExxonMobil completed a brief report on the construction progress as well as the investment assessment based on the price of gas exploited from the field. Previously, the prime minister approved a plan to develop four gas-to-power plants with a total generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts, to be fuelled from Blue Whale gas field. In addition, the PM also approved to use a part of the gas exploited from this field to serve the petrochemical industry.

In 2013, ExxonMobil and PetroVietnam signed a memorandum of understanding over the project. The project is believed to have high feasibility thanks to the good reputation of the investor and the readiness of the local authorities. The exact amount of investment capital has not been released, but initial information suggested that the gas-to-power complex could cost as much as $20 billion, while PetroVietnam referred to a figure closer to $10 billion. However, according to the latest news, the project’s investment capital is $4.6 billion.

ExxonMobil expects to exploit 8-9 billion cubic metres of gas per year, 1-3 billion cubic metres of which will go to Dung Quat Refinery for processing.